Extensions in Mozilla Firefox enable you to add all kinds of new features to the browser. But, if you’re not using an extension, removing it can help speed up your browser and protect your privacy. Here’s how to disable or remove an add-on from Firefox.
First, open “Firefox.” In any window, click the hamburger button (three horizontal lines) and select “Add-ons” from the menu.
An “Add-ons Manager” tab will open that lists all of your installed Extensions. If you’d like to disable an extension (which will leave the add-on installed but make it inactive), flip the switch beside it to turn it off.
Once disabled, the extension will move to a separate list of “Disabled” extensions below the “Enabled” list at the top of the page. If you need to enable it again later, just flip the switch beside it again to turn it on.
If you’d like to completely uninstall and remove an extension, click the ellipses button (three dots) beside the extension in the list and select “Remove.”
After selecting “Remove,” you’ll see a confirmation window pop-up asking if you really want to remove the extension. Click “Remove.”
After that, the extension will be uninstalled completely. If you ever need to use that particular extension again, you’ll need to reinstall it.
A Quick Way to Remove an Extension Using the Toolbar
If your Firefox extension has an icon in the toolbar, you can uninstall the extension quickly by right-clicking the icon and selecting “Remove Extension” from the menu that pops up.
After that, you’ll see a confirmation window appear. Click the “Remove” button, and the extension will be removed from Firefox completely. Happy browsing!
Last updated on July 10, 2019 By Venkat
Firefox 68 stable released and available for download for Windows, Mac, and Linux with dark mode improvements to Reader View and other changes. The new Firefox version not only brought a new look for add-ons manager but displays recommendations also in Themes and Extensions in about:addons.
These recommendations are new and different from recommended extensions you’ve seen in the address bar before that are delivered via Context Feature Recommender (CFR).
In April 2019, Mozilla announced about the new “Recommended Extensions Program” and said through which they’ll roll out vetted extensions to users in the add-ons manager.
In latest Firefox version 68 if you visit add-ons manager, you’ll notice new “Recommended Extensions” and “Recommended Themes” in Extensions and Themes sections respectively. The fact is some of these can be seen in the “Recommendations” section also.
If Recommended Extensions and themes don’t make sense to you you can disable them from appearing, here is how.
1. Visit about:config
2. Search for “Recommendations”, click Toggle for the Pref
extensions. htmlaboutaddons. recommendations. enabled
Do note this pref controls recommendations that appear in legacy add-ons manager also, so disabling new about:addons by toggling “extensions. htmlaboutaddons. enabled” doesn’t turn off recommendations.
And the “Recommended Extensions as you browse” and “Recommend features as you browser” options in General Preferences are not for these recommendations they’re for contextual recommendations instead.
Extensions, themes and plugins Extensions and themes are types of add-ons for Firefox. This article explains how you can disable or remove these add-ons.
- 2.1 Disabling themes
- 2.2 Removing themes
- 3.1 Disabling plugins
- 3.2 Removing plugins
Disabling extensions
Disabling an extension will turn it off without removing it.
- Click the menu button , click Add-ons and select Extensions .
- Scroll through the list of extensions.
- Click the ellipsis (3-dot) icon for the extension you wish to disable and select Disable. the blue toggle for the extension you wish to disable.
To re-enable the extension, find it in the list of extensions and click the toggle for the corresponding extension. The toggle turns blue when enabled. , click the ellipsis (3-dot) icon and select Enable (restart Firefox if required).
To disable extensions that have changed your New Tab, New Window or home page, see An extension changed my New Tab page or home page.
Removing extensions
- Click the menu button , click Add-ons and select Extensions .
- Scroll through the list of extensions.
- Click the ellipsis (3-dot) icon for the extension you wish to remove and select Remove.
Firefox comes with a Default theme and optional Light and Dark themes but you can add new themes to Firefox. For additional information, see Use themes to change the look of Firefox.
Disabling themes
Click the menu button , click Add-ons and select Themes . You will see one Enabled theme and a list of Disabled themes.
When the Enabled theme is not the Default theme, you can disable it by clicking the ellipsis (3-dot) icon and selecting Disable.
This will enable the Default theme.
Removing themes
You cannot remove the Default, Light or Dark themes that come with Firefox but you can remove themes you’ve added to Firefox. To remove an added theme:
- Click the menu button , click Add-ons and select Themes .
- Click the ellipsis (3-dot) icon that displays for the theme that you want to remove and then select Remove.
Disabling plugins
Disabling a plugin will turn it off without removing it:
- Click the menu button , click Add-ons and select Plugins .
- Scroll through the list of plugins.
- Click the ellipsis (3-dot) icon and select Never Activate from the drop-down menu for the corresponding extension.
To re-enable the plugin, find it in the list of plugins, click the ellipsis (3-dot) icon and select Always Activate or Ask to Activate in the drop-down menu.
Removing plugins
Most plugins come with their own uninstall utilities to remove them from your computer. For help uninstalling some popular plugins, go to this list of articles and select the article for the plugin you want to uninstall.
- If you are not able to uninstall a plugin, see Manually uninstalling a plugin.
- If you are not able to remove an extension or a theme, see Cannot remove an add-on (extension or theme).
- For help diagnosing problems caused by extensions and themes, see Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems.
- For help diagnosing problems with the Flash plugin, see Flash Plugin – Keep it up to date and troubleshoot problems.
- See Troubleshooting add-ons for more help.
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So many ads, so little patience… It’s time to stop the madness.
The average person sees an average of 4,000 ads a day. If you think that’s too many, an ad blocker is your new best friend.
An ad blocker is a piece of software that can be used to block ads, and they work in two ways. The first way is when an ad blocker blocks the signal from an advertiser’s server, so the ad never shows up on your page. Another way ad blockers work is by blocking out sections of a website that could be ads.
These ads might be loud video ads, ads that follow you around the web, trackers, third-party cookies, and more. To use an ad blocker, you can search for ad blocker add-ons that are available in your browser. Firefox, for example, has this list of approved ad blocker add-ons. Click on this list (or ad blockers that are approved for your browser) and see which fits your needs.
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Your system may not meet the requirements for Firefox, but you can try one of these versions:
Download Firefox — English (US)
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Firefox Privacy Notice
Find the right ad blocker for you
There’s AdBlocker Ultimate that gets rid of every single ad, but buyer beware. Some of your favorite newspapers and magazines rely on advertising. Too many people blocking their ads could put them out of business.
Popup ads are the worst. Block them with Popup Blocker and never deal with another annoying popup again.
One of the most popular ad blockers for Chrome, Safari and Firefox is AdBlock. Use it to block ads on Facebook, YouTube and Hulu.
Create a tracker-free zone with Content Blocking
On Firefox, you can use Privacy or Content Blocking settings to get even more control over ad trackers that serve you the ads.
Choose your level of protection
To start, click on the Firefox menu in the top right-hand corner of your screen. It looks like three lines stacked on top of each other. In the drop-down menu, click on Content Blocking. You should see a blue pop-up with different selections.
Go easy with Standard mode
If ads don’t bother you and you don’t mind being followed by trackers and third-party cookies, then the Standard setting should work for you. To get trackers off your tail in Standard mode, use a Private Browsing window.
Get tough with Strict mode
If seeing too many ads ruins your day, then the Strict mode is a better fit. This mode will block known third-party trackers and cookies in all Firefox windows.
Do-it-yourself Custom mode
The Custom setting gives you the ultimate choice. You can decide what you’re blocking, including trackers, cookies and more. If you allow cookies from a website, you’ll automatically be in Custom mode.
Cover your trail, block trackers
Click on the Trackers box and you’ll be able to block trackers in two ways. One way to block trackers is to do it when you’re working in a Private Window. Another way to do it is to block trackers in all windows. Keep in mind that if you choose to always block trackers, some pages might not load correctly.
Take a bite out of cookies
Cookies are sent by websites you visit. They live on your computer and monitor what you’ve been doing on a site. When an airline hikes your rates because you’ve looked at plane tickets once that day, that is the handiwork of a cookie.
In Firefox, you can block all third-party cookies or just those set by trackers. Be aware that blocking all cookies can break some sites.
Send a Do Not Track signal
If you don’t want your online behavior used for ads, you can send websites a polite “thanks but no thanks” letter by checking the Do Not Track option of Firefox. Participation is voluntary, but the websites that participate will stop tracking you immediately.
Speed up thanks to ad blockers
In some cases, an ad blocker can help your browser go faster. When an ad is loading, it can slow down a website. At the same time, it takes longer to find what you’re looking for if you’re too busy closing yet another ad.
If you want to learn more about ad blocking, there are hundreds of ad blocker extensions available for Firefox and other browsers. If want to try out the ad blockers Firefox uses, click here to download a browser that puts privacy first.
Just as good as some plugins/extensions give us nice functions and astonishing features, some plugins are incompatible and can cause slow browsing experience while surfing the web. This article will show you how to remove Firefox extensions.
Firefox add-ons—extensions, themes, and plugins can be disabled or removed from the Add-ons Manager. Find the Add-ons Manager by clicking the three horizontal lines ☰ menu on your computer, or the three vertical lines ⋮ menu on Android (Firefox does not support add-ons on iPhone/iPad). Add-ons can bring cool games, tools and visual styles to your browser, but too many add-ons can lead to slower browsing experience which can hinder your surfing.
Today, you will be learning how to remove Firefox Extensions.
How To Remove Firefox Extensions
1. Open Mozilla Firefox.
2. Click the three horizontal lines ☰ menu. This menu appears at the top right corner of the browser.
3. Click on the“Add-ons”. A drop-down menu will appear, select “Add-ons” and wait for the “Add-ons Manager Tab” to display.
4. Select “Extensions”. Extensions are a common type of add-on that bring additional features to your browser (for example pop-up blocking, games, and communication apps).
To remove a theme (a type of add-on that changes the colors and/or background of your browser), select “Appearance” instead of “Extensions.” The rest of the steps will be the same.
Removing a third-party plugin like Flash or Java and other related plugins, click on“Plugins”, and then change “Always Activate” to “Never Activate”. Plugins provide support for viewing certain types of Internet content like music, video, and animations.
5. Click on“Disable” to prevent an extension or theme from functioning again.
If you’re experiencing slowness or unexpected behavior from your web browser, it could be due to a buggy or incompatible add-on. Disabling the add-ons can help you determine which add-on is causing these issues. When you click on“Disable”, the button switch will change to “Enable,” which allows you to re-enable the extension later.
6. Click “Remove” to permanently delete the add-on. This option will permanently delete the extension and its associated files from your computer.
7. Click “Restart Now” to restart the browser with the extension disabled (or removed). Whether your chose “Disable” or “Remove,” you’ll see an option that says “Restart Now.” Once clicked, the browser will restart with the extension disabled or removed.
You can download an extension you’ve removed later by clicking “Get Add-ons” in the Add-on Manager, and that is if you still need it.
Note: If the “Remove” button is grayed out, click the ☰ menu, select the “?” symbol, then select “Restart with Add-ons Disabled”. Choose “Start in Safe Mode” from the menu. When you return to the Add-ons menu, should now be able to click “Remove” next to your desired Add-on.
You have nothing to worry about the hindrances in your surfing anymore. Remove all congested and buggy plugins that might be causing slowness in your browsing experience. If this article helped you to remove Firefox extensions, Share this piece with your family and friends, you might be helping someone. Thanks for always stopping by.
Extensions in Mozilla Firefox enable you to add all kinds of new features to the browser. But, if you’re not using an extension, removing it can help speed up your browser and protect your privacy. Here’s how to disable or remove an add-on from Firefox.
First, open “Firefox.” In any window, click the hamburger button (three horizontal lines) and select “Add-ons” from the menu.
An “Add-ons Manager” tab will open that lists all of your installed Extensions. If you’d like to disable an extension (which will leave the add-on installed but make it inactive), flip the switch beside it to turn it off.
Once disabled, the extension will move to a separate list of “Disabled” extensions below the “Enabled” list at the top of the page. If you need to enable it again later, just flip the switch beside it again to turn it on.
If you’d like to completely uninstall and remove an extension, click the ellipses button (three dots) beside the extension in the list and select “Remove.”
After selecting “Remove,” you’ll see a confirmation window pop-up asking if you really want to remove the extension. Click “Remove.”
After that, the extension will be uninstalled completely. If you ever need to use that particular extension again, you’ll need to reinstall it.
A Quick Way to Remove an Extension Using the Toolbar
If your Firefox extension has an icon in the toolbar, you can uninstall the extension quickly by right-clicking the icon and selecting “Remove Extension” from the menu that pops up.
After that, you’ll see a confirmation window appear. Click the “Remove” button, and the extension will be removed from Firefox completely. Happy browsing!
Extensions can add powerful customization features to Firefox—everything from ad blockers and tab organizers to enhanced privacy tools, password managers, and more.
With thousands of extensions to choose from—either those available on addons.mozilla.org (AMO) or self-hosted extensions listed on third-party websites—we know it can sometimes feel overwhelming trying to find good, trustworthy extensions. That’s why we created Recommended Extensions, a collection of curated extensions that meet our highest standards of security, utility and user experience.
Where to find Recommended extensions
On addons.mozilla.org, Recommended extensions are easy to spot because of the distinctive trophy badge that appears on their listing page and in search results.
You can also find Recommended extensions in the “Recommendations” section of your Firefox Add-ons Manager by going to the Tools menu and selecting Add-ons.
How Recommended extensions are selected
Our team evaluates all content under consideration for the Recommended Extensions program. For extensions selected to participate, they’re subject to ongoing re-evaluations to ensure they continue to meet the program’s high standards.
Recommended extensions are expected to:
- Function extremely well. All Recommended extensions should not only perform as they promise, but do so at an exceptional level. For instance, there may be many ad blockers out there, but not all ad blockers are equally effective.
- Be safe and secure. Recommended extensions undergo full code review by staff security experts to provide a strong additional security check.
- Provide a delightful experience. Recommended extensions should embody great design and user experience standards.
Privacy & security is key
Most extensions are built by independent developers from all over the world. The majority of these developers create software with a common purpose—they want to provide solutions to web browsing problems. The technology that supports extensions, however, is powerful; even developers with good intentions may sometimes inadvertently write software that puts sensitive user data at risk. Also, there are unfortunately some developers with malicious intent who try to use extensions to access user browsing data or other sensitive personal information. That’s why a critical component of the Recommended Extensions program is our ongoing technical scrutiny of the content.
Extensions are a great way to customize Firefox to your personal needs and taste. Whether you’re new to browser extensions or a seasoned expert, we encourage you to explore the array of powerful tools and features you’ll find among Recommended extensions.
This post is also available in: Deutsch ( German )
Mozilla has released Firefox 68 and it is able for download for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The stable version of the browser introduces the dark theme in reading mode, WebRender for Windows 10 users, accompanied by a new look for add-ons manager.
After updating to Firefox v68, if you visit ‘about:addons‘ page, you will find two new options “Recommended Extensions” and “Recommended Themes” in the Extensions and Themes section. The same recommendation for both themes and extensions can also be seen in the Recommendations section.
In case, Recommended Extensions and Recommended Themes options in the Add-ons page doesn’t make any sense to you, then, fortunately, there’s a way to disable the options. here’s how you can do it:
Disable “Recommended Extensions” and “Recommended Themes” in Firefox 68
1. Visit about:config, when warning screen appears, click on the “I accept the risk” to continue.
2. Next, search for “Recommendations“, you will get four results. Here you need to look for the following results:
Double click on the result to change value from True to False.
The above workaround will disable recommended extensions and recommended themes section from the add-ons page and not the Recommendations section.
What are your thoughts about this new update in the Firefox 68? Find it handy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Upcoming versions of the popular Mozilla Firefox browser will include a new feature. It is called “Contextual Feature Recommender” (CFR). If it will detect that an add-on can be used to enhance the browsing experience for a web site you have opened, it will show an extension recommendation.
“Contextual Feature Recommendation is a system that proactively delivers personalized Firefox feature and extension recommendations to users based on their behavior. This allows the browser to find and recommend features and extensions that will offer value to the user, hopefully making the browser more sticky, and more personal, allowing everyone to experience the best browser for the way they consume the internet”, says its official description.
Here are some screenshots:
The feature is now active in Firefox Nightly. If you are receiving these recommendations, but not happy to see them, you can easily disable them.
To disable Extension Recommendations in Mozilla Firefox, do the following.
- Open Firefox and click on the hamburger button to open the menu.
- Select the Options item from the menu.
- Click on ‘General’ on the left.
- On the right, go to the Browsing section.
- Turn off (uncheck) the option “Recommend extensions as you browse“.
The feature is now disabled.
Alternatively, you can use a special about:config option, as follows.
Disable Extension Recommendations in About:Config
- Type about:config in the address bar. Confirm that you will be careful if a warning message appears for you.
- Enter the following text in the search box: browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.asrouter.userprefs.cfr.
- Set the browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.asrouter.userprefs.cfr value to false .
- The Contextual Feature Recommendation option is now disabled, so you will not see extension recommendations any more.
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About Sergey Tkachenko
Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer from Russia who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.
2 thoughts on “ Disable Extension Recommendations in Mozilla Firefox ”
Now if you could do the same in Edge 🙁
Tried this. Didn’t work. The checkbox IS unchecked, and I still get recommended extensions.
